Since the advent of the personal computer, transferring large amounts of digital content has become much easier. Digital content providers have become concerned that computer users may transfer its copyrighted or published materials to others in mass quantities. Consequently, in order to counteract a user's ability to transfer digital content, providers have used management schemes which slow or stop the rate of data transfer.
For example, one digital rights mechanism which attempts to control both access to and usage of digital data includes the modification of a digital media player's software to include cryptographic controls. Another management mechanism is that of software/firmware-embedded hardware controls which interact with an operating system and/or media player software. Legislation and regulations have also been enacted to help manage access to and usage of digital data or hardware.
However, there exist many limitations to the current state of technology with respect to data management mechanisms. For example, cryptographic controls may be reversed engineered. Additionally, software/firmware-embedded hardware controls are vulnerable to attack via tampering. Furthermore, legislation and regulations do not always have the intended affect of reducing or stopping the rate of data transfer.